In the following few days, all my projects ran smoothly, a very welcome change compared to the usual. The day after my proposal, all the idle bunnies without exception prepared food for the stand. I took it all to Suuru and she managed to sell half of it, which was a good performance for the first day. The customers were happy too and some even swore to come back for more.
The water business was also going well. Things were very straightforward there, and I usually filled the containers in the morning, right after delivering the food to Suuru. Using that money, we managed to buy all the selnic tools Minsto wanted, which pleased her a lot. Or so she said, at least.
That very woman had been quiet after visiting the outer world, focusing on her tasks in the workshop. We ate lunch together every day, and I found out she preferred letting me cook, even though she could do it too. Either way, the food always ended up being simple since the two of us weren’t that great at preparing meals.
Apart from that, I resumed my usual routine. I went to Geola every morning, where the situation was unchanging, and sometimes paid a visit to Ulum, to chat and help her fix her touching issue.
Since I had time, I began learning dome 2’s language, which was also Minsto's native language. I sometimes asked her for help after work hours, and she diligently explained any part I wasn’t certain of.
Otherwise, it was the usual physical and magical training. The main advantage of having money was that it gave me more time to train, which increased my global chances of success in life. That was the strength of the Trading Union back in my world, and one of the reasons why they dominated the world. I previously said that time was money, but it was also life and power. It was the single most valuable element in the world.
Whenever I felt like it, I would go check on the war or explore a little around Geola. Just like that, time passed peacefully, and a few weeks went by.
**********
Kuini knocked on the door of a specific house on the outskirts of the village. Soon after it opened, a woman greeted her.
“Kuini! How are you?”
“I’m doing good. What about you?”
“Same as usual, same as usual. Come in.”
She entered the house, the woman closing the door behind her before directing her to one of the armchairs in the living room.
“Do you want something to drink?”
“Apple juice.”
“Wait a moment.”
A minute later, she came out of the kitchen with two glasses of apple juice, a product commonly made in the village. Kuini stared at her best friend, Liv, just like she couldn’t help doing every time they met. She was a normal bunny, with pure white fur, slightly taller than herself. However, there was one aspect of her that was out of the ordinary. She was wearing a wooden half mask on the left side of her face, giving a strange impression to people who met her for the first time.
Kuini knew why she was wearing it. The left part of her face was burned during a fire, the same fire in which she lost her family, in a different village. She had only shown it to her once, and never again after that. At that time, Kuini couldn’t help gasping at the terrible damage her friend had sustained and understood why she was hiding it behind a mask. With her disparate eyes and Liv’s facial injuries, they were almost predestined to become friends.
After thanking Liv for the drink, she took a sip of it while looking around the living room. She noticed a book next to her friend’s usual seat, probably the one she was currently in the middle of reading. Behind it was a bookshelf, containing a large number of neatly arranged books.
“Are you done working in the field?”
“Yes, it’s all sowed. Just need to wait for harvest now.”
“We’re done too.”
“This is the time of the year when we can relax a bit.”
Kuini nodded despite knowing this wasn’t exactly the truth. Liv did own a field, and she tended to it, but it was a small one, which meant she didn’t use much time on it. Despite claiming otherwise, the harvest from the field was far from enough to sustain her lifestyle, especially since she was regularly buying very expensive books. She knew well how she was truly earning her money, and that secret was one of the reasons she came to visit her today.
After some more small talk, she dived straight into the topic.
“Liv, I need your advice on something.”
This seemed to intrigue her friend because she sat on the edge of her seat with curiosity plastered all over her face.
“Oh? That’s rare. What sort of advice do you need?”
She hesitated a little before going for it.
“I need… sexual advice.”
This made her smile.
“You came to the right bunny! Ask away, I’ll help any way I can.”
Kuini could have gone to her mother, but this was something even her mother had no experience in, as far as she knew, at least.
“You know Tila, right?”
“Who doesn’t know him in the village?”
“The thing is, I had two relief times with him.”
“Hmm, hmm, okay. Did you go all the way?”
“No. The first time, I just showed him how I usually relieve myself.”
“Wait. That’s it?”
She couldn’t help but blush a little. She knew it was pretty lacking, yet she hadn’t been able to do more at the time.
“…Yes.”
“Wow. He must have been very disappointed.”
“N-No! He’s very nice! He said it was great.”
Her friend shook her head in disbelief.
“Kuini, did you truly believe that? He said that because he’s a good person, but internally, he must have been frustrated.”
“R-Really?”
“Why do you ask? Sigh, that’s why virgins are… Whatever. You did better on the second time, I hope?”